Murray Admits He Fell Short of the Desired Outcomes for Djokovic
Andy Murray has stated that he "probably didn't get the results I would have wanted" during his short-lived tenure mentoring his former rival, Novak Djokovic.
Murray, who finalized his playing career at the 2024 Paris Olympics, became part of Djokovic's team last November, but the collaboration dissolved after only half a year.
In his debut coaching role, the 38-year-old Murray partnered with the 24-time Grand Slam champion at the Australian Open in 2025 and a handful of other tournaments.
"It's a job coaching not only one of the best tennis players but one of the best athletes of all time, so my assumption was that it was going to be exceptionally tough," Murray noted in an interview.
He went on to say, "Novak, like myself, is a perfectionist in terms of the way he tackles his tennis, [it] is incredibly rigorous."
Looking Back at the Stint
Looking back, Murray stated that he is glad he took on the role. "It's an amazing experience that I've had," he observed.
During their time together, Djokovic defeated Carlos Alcaraz to make the semi-finals in Melbourne, but was had to pull out with an injury from his contest against Alexander Zverev.
Following that, upon his comeback, Djokovic experienced opening-round defeats in Qatar and at Indian Wells, before falling in the Miami Open final to Czech teenager Jakub Mensik.
"It was a shame what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous tennis in that tournament," Murray noted.
"After the injury, it was definitely a difficult few months for him, but also I think for the team and all of us. I was let down. Probably didn't get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching involves."
A Challenging Start and Career Reflections
Murray also shared an incident from his first day on the job, when he was told to join Djokovic on a run. He suffered through calf cramps so as not to let down his fellow former world number oneβa moment he labeled "humiliating."
Reflecting on his own stellar playing career, Murray reflected he "could have taken more breaks" to savour his successes, including after his two Olympic gold medals.
Views on the Tennis Schedule
The conversation moved onto the present-day tennis calendar, a topic of concern among top players.
Murray, who was plagued by injuries in his later years, had opposed increasing the number of two-week ATP 1,000 tournaments, saying the increased time on the road would harm players.
"I don't think there's anything that shows players are getting injured more than before. But I do think players are more tired and mentally more fatigued than they were before because they're spending more days away on the road," Murray explained.
"When you're more fatigued, you're more sensitive to pain and discomfort. My feeling is that's what players are experiencing now, just being away for longer.
"I don't think the matches are so much more grueling than they were 10, 15 years ago. But it's the amount of time that players are away on the road that's actually an issue."
